Stoll's shootout goal lifts Oilers to victory

Oct 5, 2007 - 5:52 AM

EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) -- For two periods, the fans at
Rexall Place were deprived of offense. They got their money's
worth thereafter.

Jarret Stoll's goal in the fourth round of the shootout capped
an action-packed final 25-plus minutes and led the Edmonton
Oilers to a 3-2 victory over the San Jose Sharks in the season
opener for both clubs on Thursday.

Robert Nilsson and Joe Pavelski traded tallies earlier in the
shootout before Edmonton goaltender Dwayne Roloson denied San
Jose captain Patrick Marleau to start the fourth round. On the
Oilers' next attempt, Stoll beat netminder Evgeni Nabokov to the
glove side with a wrist shot, sending the crowd into a frenzy.

"I just know (Nabokov) moves quick," Stoll said. "Sometimes you
get a quick shot away like that. Just picking a corner and
putting it where you want to put it, you're going to be
rewarded."

Neither team was able to solve the opposing goaltender over the
first 40 minutes, as Nabokov made 11 saves and Roloson stopped
13 shots. But the clubs combined for three tallies in the first
2:51 of the final session, with the Oilers coming out ahead.

"We're a lot better than that, and for a good part of the middle
of the game, we didn't move pucks quickly," Sharks coach Ron
Wilson said. "Along the way, we hit a few posts, and that could
have given us a lot of momentum. A couple of mistakes that
resulted in them scoring, you've got to give them credit, they
played hard."

Entering as the NHL's leading scorer since 2002-03 with 413
points in 317 games, Joe Thornton received the puck behind the
net and skated to the right side before dishing to Marleau, who
beat Roloson from the low slot 26 seconds into the period for a
1-0 lead.

The Sharks' advantage lasted just 71 seconds, however, as
defenseman Tom Gilbert drew the Oilers even at 1:37.

Working a give-and-go with rookie Sam Gagner, Andrew Cogliano
skated to the bottom of the left faceoff circle before putting
the puck in front. It caromed off the right skate of Gilbert,
who joined the rush, and past Nabokov.

"It's a good example for the forwards, isn't it?" Edmonton coach
Craig MacTavish said of Gilbert's hustle. "He was in the right
spot, and that's how you get a break. He really reads the play
well."

After a video review by the replay officials, the tally stood,
knotting the contest.

The sixth overall pick in this year's draft, Gagner recorded an
assist on the play for his first NHL point.

"I don't think Sam played that much, but that's going to change
in a hurry if he keeps playing like that," MacTavish said. "He
makes smart plays and he plays the game with his head."

Less than two minutes later, Edmonton took its first lead of the
season. Signed to a five-year, $27 million contract over the
summer, defenseman Sheldon Souray unleashed a slap shot from the
left point that was stopped by Nabokov.

However, the former Calder Trophy winner was unable to control
the rebound in the crease, and Kyle Brodziak swept it into the
net for a 2-1 edge.

"It was not really the shot, it was guys going to the net and
paying the price in front," Souray said. "And that was a great
play by Kyle to get in there and get his nose dirty, get in
there and score goals like that."

"After that goal early in the period, we did a good job of
getting the momentum back, scoring two quick goals," Brodziak
said. "It definitely feels good."

With victory in sight for the Oilers, Souray was called for
holding with 42 seconds remaining in the period. The penalty
proved costly as Thornton fired a wrist shot from the right
circle that found the top right corner of the net with 11
seconds to go, forging a tie.

Nabokov stopped 23 shots for the Sharks, who have lost all four
of their season-opening meetings with the Oilers.

"I don't think our execution was as high as it should have
been," Thornton said. "It's tough to lose in a shootout. We
had a good first period, terrible second, average third.
Edmonton's a tough place to play. To get out of here with (a
point) in the opener, it's all right."

Roloson finished with 28 saves for Edmonton, which improved to
4-0-1 in its last five season openers.

"It was a fun game, I think, for everybody," MacTavish said.
"It started off as you would expect, both teams were tight a
little early. But both teams loosened up when the first goal
went in, and then the game was on. ... Roloson gave us a chance
to get out of the first period, then we settled in and got a
chance to make a lot of plays."